Learning to be vulnerable in the digital age

samuel-austin-7LJ20fadcwQ-unsplash
Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on email

Showing personality and learning to be vulnerable in the digital age. 

The digital world in which we surround ourselves is often sleek and polished. Online marketing campaigns ooze perfection and branded posts are refined to only show you the best and brightest aspects of their service. This makes sense, you want your audience to believe that what you offer is the most optimal and leading product on the market. However, I think we have become too caught in the glitz and glamour of digital marketing, that we’ve missed the most crucial part: showing your audience who you are.

Last week I was speaking to a company which was struggling to engage with their audience on social media. When scrolling through their digital platforms, three key shortfalls were apparent:

  1. Overly complex language: On social media we have eight seconds to engage a viewer, so when our posts use complex language or comes across as ‘clinical’ people tend to lose interest quickly. Further it doesn’t help to create a sense of authenticity and personality online.
  2. Lack of consistency: Life is busy and falling into a habit of infrequently posting happens easily, but it doesn’t help to build your brand. The more consistent your messaging, the more your branding appears of a follower’s feed. Consistency helps to build trust, and the more your followers see of you the more they feel like they know you.
  3. Unclear messaging: Being able to succinctly tell your audience what you do, why you’re important and why they need you is crucial to the success of any company. Clear messaging helps you to build an authentic brand, one people understand and care about.

While you may have one of the above without the others, you will still find yourself with the same problem. Your digital marketing lacks personality and character. It can be a hard pill to swallow, but it is one necessary to grow your brand and your content.

So, you’ve found yourself at this crossroad, where do you go? I’m going to ask you to do something that humans have struggled to do for centuries, I want you to be vulnerable. I urge you not to panic, I’m not asking you to put your personal life on your company’s social media platforms. I want you to go back to the beginning and answer the following questions in less that 50 words.

  1. What does your service provide or what does your product do?
  2. Why is my service or product important?
  3. What am I trying to tell my audience?

Hopefully you’ve answered my three questions, so how do you now show your personality online?

Your company’s personality is reflective of the people in it and the values you hold, so show that. If you encourage teamwork, share posts of your employees working together. If you are a retailer service, interview your customers on why they like your product. If your industry is trending in the news, make a comment about it.

People connect with what they understand and content they feel emotionally engaged with. When you simplify your message and humanise your content you will find that your audience grows.

Don’t mistake me, there is certainly a place for sleek marketing campaigns but really, it’s about the content of what you post every week and how you show your personality that builds a successful brand.

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on email